Last year's decline in China's bilateral investment with Japan is a sign that companies in Asia's top two economies are concerned about the impact of prolonged territorial disputes and strained ties, analysts said.

Japan's direct investment in China fell 4.28 percent to $7.06 billion, which represented about 6 percent of China's overall foreign direct investment, the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.

China's overall FDI inflows rose 5.25 percent in 2013, compared with a 3.7 percent slide in 2012.